Typewriting machine



AprilV 23, 1935. H. A. FooTHoRAP 1,998,498

\ TYPEWRITING MACHINE original Filednec. 51, 1925 '7 sheegssheet 1awa/WB April 23,1935. n. A, FQOTHQRAP' 1,998,498"

TYPEWRITING MACIHINE Y Original Filed Dec. 31, 1925 7 Sheets-Sheet 2VUM? 5 inw" gyn/vento@ April 23, 1935. I H, AI FOQTHORAP v 1,998,498

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 3l.. 1925 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 IlIIlIll|IlIIIHIIHllllllllllllllllllI April 23, 1935.

H. A. l-ooTHoRAP TYPEWRITING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet. 4

Original Filed Dec, .31. 1925 pril 23, 1 935.

H. A. FooTHoRAP 4 TYPEWRI'TING MACHINE au; "n,

April 23, 1935. H. A, Foo'rHoRAP I TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original FiledDec. 3l. 1925 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 April 23, A1935. H. A. FooTHoRAP1,998,498y

. TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 3l, 1925 '7 Sheets-Sheet '7NZH! Patented Apr. 2s, 193s TlYlPElF/RHTING MACMNE lHarry Il.Footliorap, Harrisburg, lPa., assigner, by mesme assignments, toUnderwood Elliott Fisher Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in typewriting machines, and moreparticularly to carriage retracting mechanisms and controlling 4meanstherefor.

The principal object of the invention, generally stated, is to provide asimple and elcient form of motor driven carriage retracting mechanism,controlled automatically by the typewriter carriage, in either of thetwo extreme positions there- 1o of, and controllable independently inintermediate positionsof the carriage.

Another object is to provide for locking the carriage feeding mechanismduring operation of the carriage retracting mechanism.

Other objects will appear as the succeeding description is developed,and in this connection, it is to be noted that the particular embodimentof the invention disclosed herein is especially adapted for use inconnection with a type of machine disclosed more in detail in mycopending application, Serial No. 78,665, filed December 31, 1925, nowPatent No. 1,909,148, issued May 16, 1933, of which the presentapplication is a division.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation, with unimportant parts broken away,illustrating my invention in its preferred application, that is, tothemachine of the above noted patent,

Figure 2 is a view in rear elevation with parts broken away,

Figure 3 is a view in side-elevation,

Figure 4 isa plan view more particularly of the carriage retractingmechanism and carriage lock,

Figure 4a. is a detail section of a clutch mechanism forming part of thecarriage retracting mechanism. J

Figure 5 is an elevation of the structure shown in plan in Figure 4,

Figure 6 is an elevation of the carriage lock,

Figure 'l is a plan'view of the same,

Figure 8 is a rear elevation of the carriage feeding mechanism and theassociated carriage lock, and,

Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 are related views of parts of thecarriage lock.

Referring to the drawings, the machine to which my invention is shown asapplied is, generally speaking, of the commercially known Elliott- 50Fisher type, developed and equipped for posting telephone toll slips athigh speed. The pedestal members l (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) support a frame 2,carried by brackets 3 extending inwardly from said members l, the frame55 including side members 4 and 5 rigidly connected together in spacedapart relation, and to the brackets 3, by front and rear transverse bars6 and l. The frame 2, in turn, supports the front and rear carriageguides 8 and 9, respectively, of an Elliott-Fisher typewriter carriagel0, the construction and equipment of which is well known and need notbe entered into in detail. It is sufficient, for present purposes, tosay that the carriage l0 is equipped with the usual recording mechanism,including a series of type arms l l and operating keys I2, by themanipulation of which, letters and numerals may be printed in the usualway.

. The carriage l0 is advanced by a spring drum i3 connected thereto by atape lll, and this movement is controlled by the usual carriage feedingmechanism which includes a feed rack l5 carried by the rear carriageguide 9 and geared to the carriage l0 through the medium of akey-operated escapement mechanism, shown in Fig. 8, and fully describedin United States Letters Patent No. 1,203,519. The carriage l0 isadvanced and retracted over a combined form table and flat platen l@(Fig. 1) supported by the transverse frame bar 6, and over which theforms or. slips are fed between edge guides il and i8. After the formsor slips are printed, they may be ejected from the table and platen l 3into a receptacle l@ supported beneath the table by plates and 2lsecured to the frame members il and 5.

There is an automatic form feeding mechanism in this machine operated bythe carriage, which need only be described briefly in passing, to imparta full understanding of the general organization of the machine. "Thisfeeding mechanism includes a set of feed rolls 22 (Fig. l) mounted upona feed roll shaft 23, journaled in the plates 20 and 2l at the rear ofthe combined table and platen i6. A presser roll 2li, mounted in a frame26, swinging on the shaft 2l, Fig. 3, istensioned by a suitablyconnected spring 28, Fig. 2, to clamp the form or slip against the feedrolls 22. A one Way clutch 29 (Fig. l) on the feed roll shaft 23 isconnected by a depending arm 30 (Fig. 2) and draw rod 3l, toone arm ofla lever 32 fulcrumed at 33, the remaining arm of which is suitablyconnected at 34 with a bail 35 (Figs. 2 and 5) mounted to swing againstthe tension of a spring 36. When the carriage is retracted to begin anew line, a projection 31 thereon engages a cam 38 on the bail 35 andswings the latter, whereupon the feed roll shaft 23 is rocked, throughthe described connecting devices, suliiciently to feed the form or slipone line space.

An ejector key 39, (Figs. 1 and 3) and a release key 40, operate thefeed rolls 22 and presser roll 24, respectively, to effect release ofthe form by said rolls, and to eject the form from the combined platenand table I6 into the receptacle I9. The ejector key 39 is operativelyconnected to a one way clutch 4| on the feed roll shaft 23 by suitableconnections designated as a whole by the numeral 42. The release key 40operates connections designated by the numeral 43, to rock the shaft 21to lift the presser roll 24 and release the work. 'I'he numerals 44 and45 (Fig. 2) designate automatic skip space mechanism, and 46, 41 and 48indicate tabulator stops and a tabulator key, respectively, all of whichunits are merely noted 1n passing and form, per se, no part ofthepresent invention. The foregoing statement is likewise true of the taxmeter 49 (Fig. 1,) and its operating keys 50 and 5| with which' thismachine is equipped.

Coming now to the carriage retracting mechanism, a motor 52, (Figs. 1, 2and 3), preferably electric, is supported in the rear of the machine bya drop bracket 53 and is connected by a belt 54 to a drive wheel 55journaled on a shaft 56 afforded suitable bearings on the left handframe member 4 (see Fig. 3). The front end of the hub 51 of the wheel 55constitutes the loose member 58 of a clutch 59 whose fixed member 60 isfast to the shaft 56. Engagement and disengagement of the clutch 59controlsthe driving of the shaft 5B by the motor 52 which is preferablycontinuously operating under the 'control of a switch 6| (Fig. 3)mounted on the pedestal I. i When the clutch is disengaged, the wheel 55rotates idly on the shaft 56, but upon the engagement of the clutch, theshaft will be rotated to drive the carriage retracting pinion 62 (Figs.4 and 5) keyed to the front end of the shaft 56 and engaging a carriageretracting rack 63 fixed tothe traveling carriage I0.

It is intended that the carriage I0, upon reaching its forward limit ofmovement, will automatically cause the engagement of the clutch 59 andthus initiate the retraction of said carriage I 0, by the mototr l52,and automatically disengage said clutch 59 when the limit of theretractile movement of the carriage is reached. To this end, a clutchoperating lever 64, of bell crank form, is

`f fulcrumed at 64a on a bracket 65 extended from the frame member 4,and is provided with a stud 66 (Figs. 4 and 4a) engaging an annulargroove 61 in the hub 51 of which the loose member 58 of` "the clutch isa part. A spring 68 attached to one shown inthe position it assumesimmediately prior to reaching the' limit of the printing movement of thecarriage I0. In this position, it will be seen that a tappet on thecarriage, in the form of an adjustable screw 1| carried by the rack 63,is engaged with the short front end 1|a of the latch lever 69 so thatupon the next forward movement of the carriage I0 in letter spacingdirection, the tappet 1I will contact the forward arm 1|a of the latchlever 69 and swing said latcht lever against the resistance of thespring 68 to release the clutch-operating lever 64 and enable 1,998,498the spring 68 to rock the lever and engage the clutch.

The motor 52, operating through the belt 54, pulley 55, clutch 59, shaft56, pinion 62 and rack 63, will now return the carriage |0 to the leftin Fig. 4. When the limit of the retractile movement is approached, atappet 12 (Figs. 4 and 5) on the carriage I0 will engage an adjustablecontact, as a screw 13 carried by the front end of the clutch lever 64and the final retractile movement of the carriage will swing the clutchlever 64 against Athe resistance of the spring 66, to disengage theclutch 59 and enable the latch lever 69 to reengage the projection 10and hold said clutch disengaged.

It is sometimes desirable to shorten the travel of the carriage, and tobring the carriage retracting mechanism into operation before thecarriage has reached the limit of its normal travel in letter spacingdirection and effected its automatic return. I, therefore, provide ahand control for the clutch 59, in the form of a-carriage return lever14 (Figs. 2, 3 and' 5) fulcrumed at 14a on a bracket 15, and having itslower end 16 disposed to engage the end 1Ia of the latch lever 69 forthe purpose of moving thelatter to its idle position to release theclutch lever 64 when the upstanding portion of the lever 14 is graspedby the operator and swung in opposition to the spring 11 (Fig..5). Themovement of the lever 14 is limited by a stop 18.

It isdesirable to lock the feeding mechanism of the carriage I0 againstany attempt to operate it during carriage retraction.` I, therefore,pro- .vide a carriage feed lock in the form of a lever.`

19, Figs. 6 to 14, fulcrumed bn the back of the carriage at 80, with itsrear end disposed to engage an abutment or trip 8| carried by the fixedpart of the structure in such position that the nal advance movement ofthe carriage in letter spacing direction will bring the rear end of thelock` lever 19 into engagement with the trip 8| andcause the lever to beswung from its normal position, shown in Fig. 4, and in full lines inFig. '1, to its operative position, indicated in dotted lines in Fig.7.' There is a second abutment or trip 82 similar to the trip 8 which isengaged by the lever419 upon retract on lof the carriage I0 contact withwhich shifts the lever to its inoperative position. In its operative orlocking position, the lever- 19 obstructs the operative movement of theescapement designateci\83 (Fig. 8). For this reason, the lever 19 is somounted that when swung to its operative position, it will lie over andin obstructingrelation to a set collar 64 xed to the draw rod 85 of thespacing dog 86 of the carriage escapement to prevent longitudinalmovement of the draw rod, and hence, preventing the release of theescapementunder the'actlon of the keys or spacing key. The escapementlocking lever 19 is yieldingly retained in its two4 positions by aspring catch 81 (Fig. 10)

The carriage feed lock is thus latched by the catch 81 in itsineffective position during the advance of the carriage, but isautomatically brought into action to lock the carriage feeding mechanismagainst operation as soon as the forward movement of the carriage iscompleted, and holds the feeding mechanism locked against inadvertentoperation until automatically released at the limit of the returnmovement of the carriage.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a travelling carriage provided with a rack, of acarriage retracting m'otor, driving and driven clutch members, a pinionmovable with the driven clutch member and engaging the rack, and meanscontrolling the engagement and disengagement of the clutch members, saidmeans including, clutch control members projecting into the verticalplane of the rack, and members movable with the rack to engage saidclutch control members and cause the engagement of the clutch members atone limit of the rack movement and the disengagement of said clutchmembers at the opposite limit of the rack movement.

2. The combination with a carriage movable back and forth, and providedwith a rack, and a continuously running motor, of operating connectionsbetween the carriage and motor, including a clutch, a tensionedclutch-shifting lever moving in one direction to shift the clutch, aclutch latch, and Ameans mounted upon the carriage rack forengaging theclutch latch and subsequently moving the tensioned clutch lever in theopposite direction.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a carriageadapted for advance and retraction, a carriage-retracting motor, anddriving connections between the motor and the carriage, including aclutch; of clutchcontrol mechanism, including clutch-shifting andclutch-latching levers, respectively, the clutchshifting lever beingmovable to engage and disengage the clutch, respectively, and theclutchlatching lever being movable into interlocking engagement withsaid shifting lever to retain the latter in clutch-disengaging position,a single tensioning device urging said latching lever to- Wardinterlocking position, and said shiftingrlever toward clutch-engagingposition, and means to alternately move the latching lever frominterlocking engagement and the shifting lever to clutch-disengagingposition by advance and retraction of the carriage, respectively, andinclud, ing tappets on the carriage directly engaging said levers.

4. The combination with a frame, a carriage adapted for advance andretraction thereon, and escapement mechanism on 'the carriage, includinga draw rod, of motor-operated carriageretracting mechanism, andcarriage-operated mechanism for locking the escapement while saidcarriage is under the control of the motor, including a locking memberon the carriage movable to engage and disengage said draw rod, and

abutment members on the frame `directly contacting said locking memberto move the latter to engaging and disengaging positions at the limitsof advance and retraction of the carriage, respectively.

5. The combination with a frame, a carriage adapted for advance andretraction thereon, and escapement mechanism on the carriage, includvinga draw rod, of motor-oper-ated carriageand carriage-operated retractingmechanism, mechanism for locking4 the escapement while said carriage isunder control of the motor, in-

. cluding a locking member on the carriage movable to engage anddisengage the draw rod, abutment members on theframe directly contactingsaid locking member to move the latter to engaging and disengagingpositions at the limits of advance and retraction of the carriage,respectively, and cooperating means on said carriage and locking memberto yieldingly retain the locking member in either of its positions.

6. The combination with a frame, a carriage adapted for advance andretraction thereon, and escapement mechanism on the carriage, acarriage-retracting motor, driving connections kbetween the motor .andthe carriage including a clutch; of clutch control mechanism, includinga single pair of clutch-disengaging and clutchlatching levers,respectively, means for operating said levers alternately to unlatch anddisengage said clutch by advance and retraction of the carriage,respectively, including tappets on said carriage directly engaging saidlevers, an escapement locking member on the carriage movable to lockingand unlocking positions, and abutments on the frame directly contactingsaid locking member during travel of the carriage to move said member tolocking and unlocking positions in timed relation to unlatching anddisengagement of said clutch, respectively.

7. The combination with a travelling carriage; a retracting motortherefor; and connections between the motor and carriage, including aclutch; of a clutch-operating lever, one arm of which engages one memberof the clutch, and another arm of which projects into the path of travelof the carriage for operation thereby; and a latch also extending vintothe path of travel o the carriage for direct operation thereby, andnormally adapted to maintain the clutch-operating lever in one of itsadjusted positions.

8. The combination with a travelling carriage; of amotor drive for thecarriage, including a clutch; a clutch-control lever directly connectedto the clutch; a latch normally engaging the clutch-control lever; andoperating devices for the lever and the latch, the operating deviceswholly mounted on, and travelling with, the carriage, and adapted todirectly contact the lever and the latch, respectively, during thecarriage travel.

9; The combination with atravelling carriage; a carriage return motor;and driving connections between the motor and carriage, Vincluding fastand loose clutch members; of clutch-shifting mechanism, includingseparate clutch-control levers, one such lever being connected to theloose clutch member, andanother of the controll levers normally eectiveto retain the loose clutch member against movement in one direction; andtappets on the carriage to directly contact the respective clutchcontrol levers for alternate operation during the travel of thecarriage.

l0. The combination with a travelling carriage; escapement Amechanism tocontrol movement of the carriage in one direction, including a pawl anda draft member connected thereto to trip the latter; a motor andconnections between the motor and the carriage to return the carriage tothe beginning of a line: of carriageoperated means to lock theescapement during the return travel of the carriage, including anormally idle locking member adapted to engage and disengage the draftmember; and means between which and the locking member there is relativemovement, to directly contact with the locking member and shift thelatter into and out of effective position in timed. relation with thecarriage movement.

HARRY- A. FOOTHORAP.

